You'll take your Bibles and turn
back with me to Psalm 107. Psalm 107. Our text will be found in the first
nine verses. The title of the message is the
redeemed of the Lord. The redeemed of the Lord. As I've read and studied this
passage of Scripture, I realize that I could preach the gospel
from every portion of this Word. I can go from any portion of
this blessed psalm and preach the same message that I'm going
to preach to you this morning. This is a message that repeats
the gospel over and over again. God has laid it on my heart to
deal with these first nine verses. Notice we have a lot of children,
but if they've got to go to the bathroom, let them go to the
back and then downstairs. Okay? That way nobody gets disrupted. Okay? All right, let's read this
together, the first verse. It says, O give thanks unto the
Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of his enemy. Now, this psalm was most likely
written when David brought the Ark of the Covenant back from
the house of Obed-Edom, he had brought it back to Jerusalem.
And this was one of the Psalms of thanksgiving and praise. This was one of the Psalms that
was written for the praise and thanksgiving of bringing the
Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. Now, the Ark was lost because
of the sin of Israel. Israel had sinned and the ark
was captured, but now the ark, which was the center of God's
worship, had been restored. This brought great joy to the
nation of Israel. This brought great singing and
worship and praise, because it restored the sacrifices
which pictured the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
this Ark of the Covenant, the blessed picture, the blessed
picture of the of the Lord Jesus Christ, just think of the Ark
and how it was made. It was a box. It was made out
of incorruptible wood that was overlaid with gold. Well, that
speaks of the humanity, the sinless humanity of Christ and the perfect
deity of Christ. We think about what was in the
Ark of the Covenant, the manna. The golden pot of manna was in
the ark of the covenant. Who is the bread of life but
Jesus Christ? He said, I am the bread of life. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood shall never hunger and never thirst. We know that the broken law was
in the ark of the covenant. But we know that the Lord Jesus
Christ bare the sins of His people in His own body. on the tree. He bore that broken law in His
own body on the tree. And we know that Aaron's rod
that budded, a rod that was dead, and then it budded to life. We
know that this speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ. How that He was dead, but now
that He is raised from the dead, He produces fruit, which means
salvation. His people, He saves His people
from their sins. All of this pictured the Lord
Jesus Christ. Think of the lid that went on
top of this box. It was made of solid gold, and
it was not to be pieces. It was to be one piece of gold,
and it was to be beaten into the form of those seraphims that
touch their wings over the top. Jesus Christ, who was God manifest
in the flesh, purely God, shed His blood and was beaten, stricken,
smitten of God and afflicted. And we know that that lid covering
the log, covering the manna, covering the rod that budded,
we know this, that Jesus Christ is the mercy seat, the mediator
between God and men. The Scripture says that there
is only one mediator. What is a mediator? It's somebody
that stands between. It's somebody that can touch
both God and man. The only one that can do that
is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is both God and man. He can
touch God and man. And we know that on this mercy
seat, on this Ark of the Covenant, that once a year the high priest
went in, not with his own blood, but with the blood of another.
And he would sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat for the atonement
of the people, for the sins of the people. That's exactly what
happened with Jesus Christ when He shed His blood. He took His
own blood into the heaven of heavens, the holy place of God,
and presented it as an offering for our sins. And this is the
only way that sin is atoned for, by the blood of Jesus Christ. Let me ask you this morning,
how important is this man? Jesus Christ. How important? Well, this man, Jesus Christ,
is so important because he is the only way to God. There are not many ways to God. There are not many Gospels. There are not many truths. There are not many ways of life. There is only one way to God. I've heard foolish men claim
how they respect the Lord Jesus, how they say He was a good man. And yet the Lord Himself said,
I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to God but
by me. Jesus Christ is the only way
to God or he is a liar. There is no middle ground. He
cannot be a good man and there be many ways to God. There is
only one way to God. It is through this person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Second of all, this man, Jesus,
is important because he is the only righteousness of God. The
only righteousness of God. Listen very carefully. Works
cannot save you. Works cannot save you. No matter how pure. No matter
how sincere your works are, no matter how your works make you
feel holy, no matter how good you think your works are. None
of them can save you. It doesn't matter if you've fed
every hungry person in this world. It doesn't matter if you've sacrificed
your life, if you've given yourself to feeding the poor, doing good
for people. None of that will ever count
one bit for your salvation before God. Why? Because all your righteousnesses
are as menstrual cloths. That's what God says about your
good works. How much worse are your bad works? But your good works don't count
for anything. I like this illustration that
two men were rafting near Niagara Falls and they got caught up
in the in the sway in the in the current. They were in a small
boat and the people on shore saw their trouble and they they
Looked around and they found a rope and they cast the rope
out to these people. These two men who were on this
boat. And both of these men jumped off of this boat and grabbed
a hold to the rope. But in the confusion, one of
the men saw a large tree floating by. Big tree. Sturdy tree. Looked very secure. And in his confusion, he let
go of the rope and he grabbed a hold of that big tree. But that man and that tree perished. It was only the man who had a
hold of the rope that was saved. Why? Because the tree had no
attachment to the shore. The rope was the only thing grounded
on shore. Only thing that was grounded
in safety. You see, the works, your works,
they may be big. They may seem good to you. The problem is they have no attachment
to righteousness. My works have no attachment to
righteousness. All I do is sin. I in myself can do no righteousness,
no good. And the same is true of every
one of you. Our works have no attachment
to safety because they have no righteousness. You see, the only
thing that is going to save is the righteousness of another,
is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus was asked a question
concerning some men that died. under the hand of Pilate, Galileans. They were the wicked people. They were the really evil people,
these Galileans. And Pilate killed these people. And so they asked Jesus, said,
what do you think about that? And Jesus said, do you suppose
that those Galileans, those wicked men, were the worst sinners?
He said, I tell you, no. But except you repent, you shall
likewise perish." And then he gave an illustration of some
religious people. He said, what about these 18
people who were bathing in the pool of Siloam, cleansing themselves,
doing religious ceremonies? And the tower of Siloam fell
on them and they all died. Do you suppose that they were
the worst? He said, I tell you, no. But except you repent, you
shall likewise perish." So whether you're the worst sinner in this
building or you're the most pious person in this building, except
you repent, you shall likewise perish. That's the words of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Friends, don't think about anybody
else. I'm talking to you. How many times do we get caught
up thinking, well, I wish so-and-so was here? They ain't. Leave them
alone. You're here. Except you repent,
you shall likewise perish. Except you repent of your works
and your religion, except you repent of your thoughts and all
of your goodness, except you turn away from your self-righteousness
and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, clinging on to His
righteousness, you have no hope. You have no hope. This man, Jesus, was altogether
important because only his blood redeems. Only his blood redeems. My text calls to certain people,
doesn't call to everybody. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. Are you redeemed? If you are not redeemed, your
praise and your thanksgiving are meaningless and empty, and
God does not accept it. Are you redeemed? What does it
mean to be redeemed? To be redeemed means to be bought.
To be bought. It has the idea of a kinsman
redeemer. In the law, if a man was in debt
and he sold himself into slavery to pay off his debt, he would
lose his inheritance. He would lose all he had. But yet the law allowed for someone
who was a near kinsman to come and pay the debt, to redeem him,
to restore his inheritance. Friends, you and I, by nature,
have lost an inheritance. You and I have lost an inheritance
in our father Adam. When our fathers sinned, He became
enslaved to sin, and we were all born enslaved to sin. Indebted to sin. We were all born dead in sins. Have any of you questioned, you
who have no interest in the gospel, have you questioned why you have
no interest in the gospel? I'm going to tell you. You're
dead. That's why. You're dead. You have the same
inheritance that Aga did. And unless God gives you life,
you will continue on not caring, not enjoying the things of God
because you will die in your sins. But according to the law, there
would be a kinsman redeemer who was able to pay the debt and
restore the inheritance. I tell you that the law was a
kinsman, but he could not redeem. The law of God is incumbent upon
every person here. God is not asking you to obey
His law. He demands you obey His law. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength,
with all thy mind. Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. Anybody? Anybody done that? Just in the
last 20 minutes, has anybody done that? No. Not me. Not you. We've all sinned. The law cannot redeem us. If
you started today just being a better person, Oh, I'm just
going to start today. I'm going to turn over a new
leaf. The problem is the leaf is bad. I don't care which side
you look at. It's bad. Stop trying to turn
over new leaves. You need a new heart. You need
new life, you need something that I can't give you and something
you can't give yourself. You need something only God can
give you. But I'll tell you, there is one
man who is a nearer kinsman who was not only willing to save,
but able to save. Jesus Christ is the Redeemer. He is the one that God has sent
to redeem and pay the price for the sins of His people. What
is the price of sin? We all think little of sin, don't
we? We think real little of sin. Oh, it's no big deal. I would probably agree with you,
because I myself am a sinner. To God, it's a big deal. To God,
one sin is worthy of eternal damnation. One sin. Do you realize that the angels
committed one sin and God chained them forever
to eternal destruction? How many sins have you committed? What are your sins? What is the
debt you owe to God? Well, Jesus Christ came into
this world as a man, not only to obtain righteousness by His
faith in God, but also to redeem by paying the price of death. Death. This was the purpose of God from
eternity. To save His people from their
sin. To save His elect people. God,
from eternity in grace, even before there was sin, God said,
I'm willing to save my people from their sins. And the way
He would do it was always by a Redeemer. God purposed to accept His people
in Christ, and He appointed Christ to be the Redeemer of His elect.
Now, notice. Notice the assurance. of all
who have been redeemed by the blood and righteousness of Jesus
Christ." Look at your text. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Whom he hath redeemed. All who have been redeemed have
been redeemed by God. It was God whose holy justice
demanded our obedience. It was God's justice that sentenced
us to spiritual death. And yet God purposed to satisfy
His own justice and redeem sinners by the blood of His Son. Who but God could know the depths
of man's depravity? Who but God could understand
what the justice of God demands? And who but God can satisfy God? Could you satisfy God? Your own
conscience condemns you. You know you can't. Only God
can satisfy God. Therefore, all who are redeemed
are redeemed by the hand of God. And I'm going to ask you again,
are you redeemed? It does not matter how much you've
heard this message, many of you heard this message. Thousands
of times. I'm not telling you anything
new, am I? Have I said anything that any one of you have not
heard? I'm looking out here. I don't I don't see anybody that
hasn't heard me preach. So this is not something new,
not telling you anything new. You've heard this. Some of you
may even affirm that it's true. You may say, yeah, I think that's
right. Yeah, that's good. Yeah. But
have you been redeemed? Have you been redeemed? Well, how do you know if you've
been redeemed? Well, look at our text. He's going to give
us the experience of a redeemed person. Those who are redeemed
by the blood of Christ have, every one of us, have this same
experience. Look at this here in verse 4.
They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way. They found
no city. to dwell in. Everyone who is redeemed of God
confesses this, that we wandered aimlessly in the deserts of our
sin. This is true of every redeemed
sinner, that we by nature wandered aimlessly in our sin and move
from one sin to the next sin, to the next sin, to the next
sin. And we all said in our hearts,
if I can just get this, then I'll be happy. Who's not said
that? If I can just have this, then
everything will be well with me. If I just get to this certain
level of education, if I just get this certain person, if I
just get this certain thing, then everything will be well
with me. And you move from one mirage
to the next mirage and everything seems to disappear in your hands. You think it's good. You put
it to your mouth and it's only sand. Doesn't work. It doesn't satisfy. It doesn't
fulfill like you thought it would. Oh, that would be great if I
could have that. And when you get it, what is it? It's gone.
And you start looking for the next thing, the next greatest
thing. But the redeemed of the Lord
are not allowed to continue to wander aimlessly in the desert. Because all who have been redeemed
are made to see that our plans and dreams are nothing but an
illusion, that our thoughts, that which we thought would satisfy,
are nothing more than desert sand in our mouth. Verse five, hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted in them. We who are redeemed have found
no works and no religion, no amount of worldly pleasure to
fill the void in our hearts. I remember when I met my wife,
I thought that was it. I thought, surely this is going
to be my complete happiness. And I tell you that there has
been nothing but disappointments. And I know the same is true for
her. Just two wicked people. Selfish. And we thought together, well,
if we just had the perfect children, then... If our children would just be
raised right and good, then... No. No. We don't find any of our comfort
in our children. I love them. I long for God to
save them. That they be part of the redeemed. But ultimately, my happiness
is not in my wife or my children. My hope does not rest in my wife
or my children. Do you have a hunger for righteousness? If you don't have a hunger for
righteousness, I hope and pray that you would beg God for a
hunger for righteousness. If you can't feel your need of
righteousness, I pray that you would pray that God would give
you that need for righteousness. The Scripture says, Blessed are
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they
shall be full of righteousness. The script, one of the catechisms,
everyone knows this, most of you children. What is the chief
end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him
forever. In other words, to please God. That's the chief end of man,
to please God. But how is it possible to please
God? Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. But faith in what? Faith in what? What do you believe in? A man
was asked, what does he believe? He said, well, I believe what
the church believes. Well, what does your church believe? Well,
they believe what I believe. That man believes nothing. A
man like that believes nothing. But the redeemed of the Lord
are made to see that their only hope is to cry for mercy." Cry for mercy. Do you cry to God for mercy? See, if you don't need mercy,
I'm not talking to you. You're still aimlessly walking
around. You don't have any idea what
I'm talking about. But we who are redeemed, we know
something of our need of mercy. Not partial mercy. I don't need
God to help me. I need God to do it for me. I need God to redeem me. I need the blood of Christ to
cover me, to cleanse me from all my sin and all my guilt. I need the righteousness of Christ
to clothe me, because without it, I'm naked. Without it, I'm
open and exposed before the justice of God. I need mercy. And friends,
I need mercy more right now than I've ever needed mercy in my
entire life. I need mercy now. I've got to
have it. And you know what? I have it. I have it. There's not one who
has ever cried to God for mercy through the blood of Jesus Christ
alone who has not found it. Behold the grace and love and
mercy and goodness of God. Look at that in verse six. Then
they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them
from all their distresses. Listen to the word of God's grace.
You are wandering aimlessly and been disappointed, disappointed,
disappointed. Listen, listen, there is redemption. There's hope in Christ, in a
man who is seated on the throne of God. He's real. He lives. And everyone who believes in
him has this mercy. Cry to God for complete mercy. and He will deliver you in your
trouble. I like that song. If you tarry
till you're better, you'll never come at all. Oh, I'm just waiting
for that one time when I get better or when I get done sinning,
when I get my fill of sin, then... I've seen those people come and
go. I've seen very few come. I tell you, believe now. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day
may bring forth. You and I don't know if we'll
be living tomorrow. We don't know. Believe now. And if you've just believed,
don't hold on to what you just believed. Believe now. And don't hold on to that. Believe
now. I don't have faith in my faith. I have faith in the son of God
who loved me and gave himself for me and redeemed me from all
my sin. This is very personal to me.
He's redeemed me. Has he redeemed you? Well, the redeemed cry out unto
God for mercy and they find mercy. And verse 7, he said, he led
him forth by the right way that they may go into the city of
habitation. Friends, this world is not my
home. It's just not. I'm going to be here for a little
while and then I'm going to leave. A few more rolling suns at most
will land me safe on Canaan's coast. Just a few more days. Just a few more days, and I'll
be gone. And you know what? Nobody's going
to even remember I was here. When I leave this world, in a
few short years, there won't even be a person to remember
my name. But I know this, God will, because
my name is written in the palms of His Son's hands. My name is
written on the heart of His Son. He won't ever forget me. He redeemed
me. He paid the price for my sins. And He will bring me again to
Himself. He will. And now then that I
have been redeemed, now that I do believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and
for His wonderful works to the children of men. For He satisfies
the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
I tell you by my experience, I tell you by my own salvation,
that God is gracious and good and kind and the blood of Christ
satisfies like nothing else. The blood of Christ, the righteousness
of Christ satisfies like nothing else. You know what? I want you to go to heaven with
me. I do. I would love to see every
one of you. I pray that God had redeemed
all of you. I don't know if that's true.
Most likely it's not. But that should be the heart
of every one of God's redeemed. We should have compassion on
the lost. If I laid a corpse Down here
in front, do you suppose ridiculing that corpse would do anything? Do you suppose kicking him or
hitting him would do anything? No. He needs life. And what God's people have is
the Word of Life. We should be saying so. The Apostle said, I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believe it. I'm not ashamed. I'm not ashamed of Christ. He's
my Redeemer. He's my Savior. He's my friend. I like that. He's my friend. Have you been redeemed? May God, by His mercy, cause
you to call and beg for mercy. And He will save everyone that
believes. May God bless this message to
your hearts. Let's stand. We'll be dismissed
in prayer.